Telegraph group eyes outsourcing

Telegraph Media Group is understood to be considering outsourcing some of its production operations away from its headquarters in Victoria, amid further departures in the latest round of redundancies.

As part of its plan to make cost savings, MediaGuardian.co.uk understands that TMG is considering outsourcing some production activities, which is expected to involve some of the subbing work currently undertaken in the supplements department.

It is also understood that this follows the TMG head of production, Richard Oliver, making a trip to Australia to inspect an outsourcing centre in Brisbane.

TMG management told staff last Thursday that the company was seeking in the region of 50 redundancies across its editorial operations before Christmas.

Insiders at TMG expect as many as 30 jobs to go in a production department of nearly 100.

Members of the production staff expect to be told more about management's planned cuts later this week. As part of those cuts it is understood that three or four news subs were made redundant yesterday.

Tom Knight, the TMG athletics correspondent, and Graham Tibbetts, who worked on the Daily Telegraph newsdesk, were also made redundant on the same day.

"TMG must cut costs as a consequence of the continuing and accelerating fall in advertising revenue and soaring newsprint prices," the TMG executive editorial director, Richard Ellis, told staff last week.

"With less advertising, there will be fewer pages to produce, so the main bulk of the job reductions will be in the areas of production, magazines, and pictures, though few areas will be unaffected."

TMG had not responded to a request for comment from MediaGuardian.co.uk at the time of publication.

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